Back when RED first announced their Scarlet camera it caught a lot of people's attention with the promise of 3k resolution for $3000. Before it was released I secretly hoped that they would keep their promise (even though I knew it was unlikely) so that I could buy two Scarlets to shoot Play It Safe. Well, as we found out at the end of last year, we didn't end up with 3k for $3000 (and consequently Jaque and I will be sticking with our trusty Canon DSLRs for Play It Safe). However, achieving 4k resolution even for around $20,000 is still a pretty big deal, and I've been following news of the camera with interest since it was officially announced and priced.

While some test footage came along pretty quickly after the announcement, the first actual films shot on a scarlet were only released in the last couple of weeks.

It can get pretty boring just watching test footage, and the teams behind these two shorts did a really great job of creating an engaging viewing experience as well as putting the camera through its paces.

With Koo's short "Pull Back" especially, you can really see how the Scarlet shines when compared to something like a DSLR. Overall, the footage looks razor-sharp and is totally free from issues like banding, moire, and rolling shutter that plague DSLR shooters.

Check out the shorts below and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments:

Chris Pahlow is an independent writer/director currently in post-production on his debut feature film PLAY IT SAFE. Chris has been fascinated with storytelling since he first earned his pen license and he’s spent the last ten years bringing stories to life through music videos, documentaries, and short films.